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Automation comes to Skene Memorial Library!

Skene Library is part of the Four County Library system (4CLS). That allows Skene patrons to request books from the online 4CLS catalog which lists books from all branches of the 4CLS that have their collection online. The requested books are then delivered to Skene once a week and the patron can pick them up locally. Right now Skene’s books are not listed in the on-line catalog.

But the inter-library loan system is about to really expand. NY State has mandated that all libraries must be automated by 2021, so our library must start the automation process that will allow other 4CLS patrons to request our books. The inter-library loan expansion will greatly increase the books available to Skene patrons and will also give us more frequent delivery of requested books – from one to two days a week.

In order to expand our services we need two kinds of help from our patrons:

VOLUNTEERS – to help us barcode the 8000 books in our collection so they can be added to the 4CLS online catalog.

DONATIONS – to pay for the barcoding materials and printers, as well as the ongoing access cost to participate in the 4CLS online system.

Please contact Linda Rodgers our Librarian at 845-254-4581 or come by and sign up to Volunteer or make a Donation

Skene Memorial Library1017 Main StreetFleischmanns, NY 12430

Donations Welcome

Budgets are tight everywhere these days, and the cost of heating the library remains high. The funding from state and local governments covers only a portion of our budget so we supplement it with our fund-raising book and tag sale each May.

We encourage donations from individuals, no matter what amount. With your help, we can continue to obtain the best in books and audio and DVD materials. We thank all those who have donated books and other items for our collections and sales, and eagerly encourage such donations.

Four County Library System

Skene Memorial Library is a member of The Four County Library System, a cooperative network among Delaware, Broome, Otsego and Chenango counties, which extends considerably our “book borrowing” capacity. Ask our Librarian about it or Click here to visit their site….

Internet Access

Skene Memorial Library has 4 public access computers for internet surfing, research or Microsoft Office applications. In addition there is free wifi access for your own laptop.

2019 Fundraising Drive

Upgrading is as essential for organizations as for machines. They too must raise the level of their capabilities if they are to remain viable. It is why libraries must always be involved in an upgrading process, and why we at the Skene are doing just that.

You may have noticed that our public computers have been upgraded to the Windows 10 operating system, with its greater speed and improved design. New, upgraded headsets provide sharper sound and a lighter feel. Through our connection with the Four County Library System, Skene patrons now have upgraded access to an expanded range of research into such topics as business and finance, job help, health and wellness—not to mention into a vast collection of encyclopedias, periodicals, almanacs, Spanish-language resources, and more. You can also reserve or download books from any of the libraries in the system, including the Skene, digitally, and if you want to, in the middle of the night.

Now we are focusing on opportunities for grants to help us deal with other fundamental upgrades. One possible grant, through a newly opened funding area from a local foundation, could help us extend or expand our highly successful series of children’s programs. Another, from New York state, would enable us to make substantive changes to our physical plant to improve both efficiency and the library experience—new and better lighting, for example. As is the case with most grants, these would require a local match—that is, we would have to advance a percentage of the total sought to evidence local support for the upgrade.

Building up the funding for such matches is our special “ask” as we turn to you for financial donations in this season. Your steadfast support over the years has enabled the Skene to continue to deliver benefits to the communities we’ve been serving since 1904. We see it as your vote of confidence in the unique role a local library plays and in the special qualities that characterize the Skene—a renowned collection of books of local interest or origin, wifi even before you get in the door, programs and performances for adults and children throughout the year, and our unmatched acquisition of current books across a range of genres and interests.

This year, we hope your donation will also reflect your support for the upgrades we have effected and will continue to pursue in order to preserve those special qualities and keep your library viable far into the future.

Whatever gift you can manage, we thank you for your generosity, and we extend our best wishes for the holidays and for a healthy, happy new year to you and your family.

Make you donation payable to: Skene Memorial Library

Please mail your contribution to:

Skene Memorial Library
1017 Main Street
Fleischmanns, NY 12430

My contribution is enclosed ____________

Name: ______________________________________________

Phone: ________________

Address:_____________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Email: ______________________________________________

Library Closed Until May 15

Skene will now be closed until at least May 15 in accordance with Gov. Cuomo’s “New York State on PAUSE” executive order that all non-essential businesses statewide close.

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Board of Trustees Meeting Suspended

The Board of Trustees of Skene Memorial Library
monthly meeting is suspended until further notice.

Digital Patchwork Quilt

Skene Book Group

The Skene Book Group meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 11AM in the Library. Schedule:

For further information, please contact the Library Director, Linda Rodgers at 845-254-4581

New Book Acquisitions

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel AllendeThe Secrets We Kept by Lara PrescottAmerican Dirt by Jeanine CumminsA Minute to Midnight by David BaldacciAgent Running in the Field by John Le CarreOnce Night Falls by Roland MerulloA View Across the Rooftops by Suzanne KelmanAbigail by Magda SzaboThe Third Daughter by Talia CarnerThe Train To Crystal City by Jan Jarboe Russell